A photo showing a lion cub losing its grip and nearly falling down a tree trunk in Tanzania was awarded the top honor in this year's Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.
The annual awards, which began in 2015, highlight some of the world’s “most amazing wildlife” and the comedic and lighthearted situations they find themselves in.
The competition received 5,000 entry photos from 85 countries this year, with photographer Jennifer Hadley winning the top award for her photo titled “Not so cat-like reflexes.”
The photographer caught the exact moment a 3-month-old cub tried to find his way out of a tree — but it didn’t go quite as planned.
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“No one expected this to happen and of course, we were concerned for his safety,” Hadley said. “But as happily as cats do, he righted himself just in time and landed on all fours and ran off with his siblings.”
Five other photos were awarded in the underwater, creatures of the air, junior, portfolio, and people’s choice categories.
The winning underwater photo, titled “Say Cheeeese” and taken by photographer Arturo Telle Thiemann, shows two triggerfish appearing to smile into the camera off the Portuguese island of Faial, Azores.
The winning creature of the air photo, taken by photographer Jean Jacques Alcalay, shows a hippo mid-yawn next to a unsuspecting heron. The photo was taken at Kruger National Park in South Africa.
Ten other photos were recognized as "highly commended." These include photos showing a jumping squirrel by Alex Pansier, a waving raccoon on a Florida beach by Miroslav Srb and a pair of playful meerkats in South Africa by Emmanuel Do Linh San.
The photography competition looks to highlight the importance of wildlife conservation and 10% of the organization’s revenue benefits the Whitley Fund for Nature.
For more information on this year’s winning photographs and the annual competition, click here.
